1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a control method for a liquid ejecting system including a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquid and an input apparatus for inputting data, as well as a liquid ejecting system.
2. Related Art
Recently, it has become popular to, in a printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, form (print) images (moving images, still images and the like) photographed by using, for example, a digital camera, or the like, on an ejection target medium, such as print paper, by ejecting liquids onto the ejection target medium through a plurality of nozzles included in a liquid ejecting head. At this time, in order that images are correctly printed on the ejection target medium, it is necessary that each of the nozzles for ejecting liquids is in the state capable of ejecting the liquid correctly. For this reason, in existing printers, a nozzle inspection (a dot-missing inspection) for inspecting whether or not each of nozzles is in the state capable of ejecting a corresponding liquid is performed, and as a result of the nozzle inspection, in the case where any dot-missing nozzle is detected, a maintenance of a liquid ejecting head is performed by making cleaning of the nozzle (refer to, for example, JP-A-2005-231249).
Meanwhile, in existing printers, the timing of making cleaning (performing maintenance) of such a dot-missing nozzle having been detected through the nozzle inspection is made a timing point after the completion of transmission of data (liquid ejection data), which is for use in ejecting liquid droplets associated with an image to be printed on an ejection target medium through nozzles, to the printer from, for example, a personal computer. That is, in existing printers, the cleaning of nozzles is made under the state where printing is assuredly performed after the completion of transmission of liquid ejection data to the printer functioning as a liquid ejecting apparatus from a personal computer functioning as an inputting apparatus for inputting data associated with an image to be printed. In this way, in such a printer, the consumption of liquids is suppressed so as not to be wasted.
Nevertheless, in such a case where the cleaning (maintenance) of nozzles is made (performed) after the completion of transmission of liquid ejection data to a printer, there is a problem that it takes a long time from the beginning of inputting of data associated with a printing image in a personal computer until the beginning of execution of ejection of liquids. For this reason, when a user performs printing of a desired image by using a kiosk terminal installed at a shop, this kiosk terminal being an example of the inputting apparatus and the liquid ejecting apparatus, the user needs to wait for a long time from the beginning of inputting of data until the completion of printing of the image, at the shop where the kiosk terminal is installed.
In addition, such a situation has been generally common to liquid ejecting systems each provided with a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes a liquid ejecting portion including a plurality of nozzles, a nozzle inspecting portion for inspecting whether or not the nozzles are in the state capable of ejecting liquid droplets correctly, and a maintenance portion for performing maintenance, as well as an inputting apparatus that receives data inputted by a user.